The federal government has refused to respond to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) charter of demands before January 28, the day the next round of talks is scheduled to take place, with the former ruling party insisting on the formation of judicial commission for continuity of negotiations.
“As per the agreed communique, no response will be given before seven-day deadline…we will respond to PTI’s demand for judicial commission at the next round of talks,” PML-N Senator Irfan Siddiqui – who is also the spokesperson for the government negotiation committee – said while speaking to the media on Sunday.
Uncertainty looms over the future of the negotiations, facilitated by National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, as conflicting statements emerge from the embattled former ruling party with PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan saying ongoing talks were put on hold, a shift from the party’s earlier announcement of calling them off.
The PTI “called off” the negotiation process due to “non-cooperation” of the government and delay over the formation of a judicial commission to probe the May 9, 2023 violent protests and a crackdown on party protesters in Islamabad on November 26 last year.
The PTI and the ruling coalition have been engaged in talks aimed at defusing political tensions in the country for nearly a month. Both sides have held three rounds of talks so far.
The dialogue process hit a snag as the Khan-founded party is of the view that they would attend the fourth round of talks only if the government formed the judicial commission while the ruling alliance stated that they would give their written response to the PTI’s demand in the next round of negotiation.
However, a day earlier, PTI founder Imran Khan demanded a meeting with his party’s negotiation committee, with sources claiming that the final stance regarding the negotiations would be given after the meeting.
Speaking to the media, Siddiqui lambasted the Imran-founded party for ending the talks unilaterally, saying that the abrupt end was a surprise not only for the committee but also for the PTI itself.
“Barrister Gohar previously cited Imran’s message for calling off the negotiations… Later in the evening, they put forward a justification that the police raided [Sunni Ittehad Council chief] Sahibzada Hamid Raza’s house,” he noted.
He added Raza used the words “absolutely not” for negotiations. “We are ready for the Jan 28 meeting…we will not respond to PTI’s threats or boycotts,” he warned.
Barrister Gohar – while talking to the media – said that the government delayed the start of negotiations and also delayed the formation of the commission. “If the government is serious about the talks, take one positive step and we will talk to Imran,” he said.
According to PTI Chairman, the negotiation process has officially ended after the competition of seven-day deadline. He noted that the government can announce the formation of judicial commission and his party would look into it. “If the government asks us to sit on the commission’s TORs [terms of references], we will talk to the PTI founder,” he concluded.
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